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The Edge of War Session 7
The seventh session in the campaign The Edge of War Preceded by The Edge of War Session 6 As the adventurers ponder over what they will do about Vetro and his hobgoblin soldiers, they see a flock of hippogriffs and a wyvern used by the Banites to outpace the adventurers to Garban. Upon asking a local goliath about the upcoming tournament, the adventurers learn that the hobgoblins arrived in order to impress the goliath elders with their strength, so that goliath tribes would ally with the armies of Bane. In order to prevent this alliance from occurring, the adventurers decide to compete against the Banites in the tournament. They buy a tent and place Halzar's and Kuori's shields outside it to signify their status as competitors, hiring a squire to watch over their things, and then decide to wander the tournament grounds. As they return to their tent, the adventurers see that Kuori has been challenged to a joust by Dustin, Jethro's childhood friend. Jethro takes up the position as Kuori's second, and finds that Hiroshi is Dustin's second. As they proceed to the jousting grounds Halzar and Isaack join the goliath elders in a viewing tent, with Kuori and Jethro on the pitch beneath them. In the tent, the goliath elders inform the adventurers that whoever wins the joust stands to gain a large sum of gold as a reward. The horn is blown for the joust to begin, and Kuori and Dustin charge at each other. Dustin misses with his lance, but Kuori unseats him from his horse in a single blow. Up in the viewing tent, the goliath elders comment upon how Kuori has surely regained her honor within her tribe for her victory. Jethro and Hiroshi then take the pitch, and as the horn is blown they charge each other. Jethro hits with his lance, but is unable to unseat Hiroshi, who hits Jethro. As they make a second pass Jethro misses, but Hiroshi hits and is able to unseat Jethro. Hiroshi then dismounts his horse and engages Jethro in a duel. As they begin fighting Kuori, Isaack, and Halzar keep an eye on Dustin, ready to engage him in battle should he seek to join the fight. Jethro is able to knock Hiroshi unconscious, upon which he receives a flash from Kepesk commanding him to kill Hiroshi. Jethro refuses, at which moment lightning rains down from the clear sky, striking Jethro and arcing over to Hiroshi, killing him. Halzar rushes out to the viewing tent to tend to Jethro's wounds finding that the mark of Tiamat is no longer upon Jethro's hand, as the crowd looks on in stunned silence. The goliath elders comment to Isaack how his teammates have put up a strong showing in the tournament so far, and that the Banites have found themselves shamed. He then rewards the adventurers with 6,500 gp each. The adventurers then compete in an archery competition, with Jethro and Isaack competing against a hobgoblin archer. Unlike the success found in the jousting competition, the hobgoblin readily defeats both heroes, and walks away with a large sum of gold as a reward. Following this loss, the adventurers hope to make up for it with a win in the gladiatorial arena. Regaining their shields from the tent, the adventurers head over to the arena to see what it is like. As they admire the battleground, their squire comes to inform them that the Banites have challenged them to a fight. Entering the arena, the adventurers find themselves paired against a Hobgoblin necromancer named Gokof and the cadaver collector. The adventurers fight back against an early lead by their opponents, narrowly avoiding being skewered by the cadaver collector's spikes. Kuori puts down the cadaver collector with a thunderous blast from her longsword, and impales Gokoff not long after. To congratulate their victory, the goliath elders give each of the adventurers a magical tattoo, the fourth of the heroes' artifacts. Halzar, Kuori, and Isaack then receive a flash from Kepesk, showing them what Isaack recognizes to be Gwarcheidwad, along with an overlaying image of tentacled horrors. When they return to the stables to retrieve their mounts, the adventurers find a messenger drake with a letter from Rhasvim, informing them of his concern for their having made a pact with Kepesk. The adventurers also find the golden horse, who allows Jethro to mount him. Jethro then recognizes it as the Adamantine Horse of Xarn, the fifth heroes' artifact. Before riding off to Gwarcheidwad the adventurers send a message to Rhasvim detailing him of their exploits. Followed by The Edge of War Session 8